Sunday, November 22, 2009

New Moon opened this week-end and my buddy and I decided we would brave the throngs of teenage girls and give it a go. Guess what? Looking around the theatre, we did not see a bunch of teenage girls, we saw a bunch of women who looked a lot like us.

Still, there were a couple of things that happened that gave away my age:

1. While at the snack bar, I felt compelled to discuss the recent NPR report on movie popcorn. I asked the 16 year old guy working the popcorn machine if he knew how much fat was in movie popcorn? No, shockingly, he did not. Was his popcorn, in fact, popped in coconut oil? Yes, in fact it was. Well, his popcorn was the equivalent of 7 Big Macs. What did he think of that? Yes, he thought he could eat 7 Big Macs, but not in one sitting.

2. While sitting through what seemed to be an hour of previews, I had to eat an energy bar to make it to the actual movie. The movie that looked the best in all the previews is an upcoming movie starring Meryl Streep about a woman whose husband divorces her and marries a much younger woman. He rues the day, and begins an affair with his original wife.

3. During the movie, I had to ask my buddy, several times, about key components of the plot, even though I read the book two months ago. All of it had left my mind, including the reason why Jacob has to continually run around with his shirt off in the movie. You see, werewolves burn much hotter than humans, so shirts are an encumbrance. I hope I'm not giving away anything by saying this is not a bad thing, in the movie.

4. Our medium sized diet cokes were comparable to the amount of water you would drink on a day hike in Yosemite. The cost of said diet cokes would also get you a camping site for the night.

5. After the movie, I felt unsettled so I googled a couple of feminist critiques of the Twilight series. They made a couple of great points about the author's relationship with religion leaking into the gender roles of her characters. Breaking Dawn, the final book in the series, takes a turn that is decidedly creepy and the images stay with you. Still, I enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed the books. Increasingly, I am aware that my well-worn labels, like feminist and liberal don't always fit anymore.

So, for me, the movie is not about a weak woman who gives up her identity for a love object. For me, the movie is about dangerous desire. Desire that triumphs humanity, family, and community. A passionate connection between equals seems like the way to go....I will look forward to seeing that depicted on screen.